Car-seal.



0. 0. BUSSE.

1 CAR SEAL. APPLICATION FILED 001.9, 1911.

1,048,133 Patented Dec.24, 191 2.

' To all whom it may concern.-

UNITED STATES PATENT onnron.

OTTO G. BUSSE, O1" VINCENNES, INDIANA.

CAB-SEAL.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 24:, 1912.

Application filed flctober 9, 1911. Serial No. 653,646.

Be it known that I, 0'1'10 O. Bnssn, of Vincennes, county of Knox, State of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Car-Seals; and I- do hereby declare the followin to be a full, clear, and exact description 0 the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this s ecification, and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to car seals of that type wherein a metal strap or tie is passed through the doorfsecuring staple, the two ends of the tie being fastened together in such manner as to clearly indicate if the seal has been broken at any time subsequent to I the sealing of the door.

More specifically, the invention relates to the type of car seal last above referred to, in which one end of a metal strap tie is provided with a housing having within it look- I ing devices for the op osite end of the strap such locking. devices ing designed to automatically engage with the said end when inserted in the housing and to prevent the .withdrawal of said end without rupturing or destroying the parts in such manner that the fact that the seal has been tampered with is at once apparent to an observer. This type of car door seal is well known at.

the present day and hence various. details .of construction made use of in the present invention and at present known need not be specifically referred to.

The objects ofthe invention are to simplify the construction of such aseal and provide a device which will lock the end of the tie more securely and in such wise that it cannot be released by the introduction of a pick or other instrument without the destruct'on of the seal itself.

Reflerring to y the accompanying drawi'ngsFigure 1 is a plan view of a blank from which the seal of the present invention is formed, portions of the tie being broken away; Fig. 2 is a similar View with the portion of the blank which is to form the body of the housing partly flanged up; Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the devlce showing the parts in the positions occupied by them when the end of the tie. is secured by the locking devices; Fig. 4 is a similar {sectional elevation showing the end of the tie in the position occupied by it immediately before its engagement with the lockmetal.

ing tongue; Fig. 5 is a section in a transverse plane with the'parts in the positions occupied by them before the edges are bent down to lock them together in the forma- 68 tion of the body; Figs. 6 and 7 are views corresponding to Fig. 5 but showing respectively the edges of the bod portion partly and completely folded to orm the locking joint between them; Fig. 8 is a perspec-' tive view of the locking tongue and hooks.

Like letters of reference in the several figures indicate the same arts.

The blank from Whic made of relatively light but strong sheet As shown in Fig. 1, there is a long narrow tie" portion A and transversely widened portions B, C-and D, respectively.

The portions B and C constitute the top and-- bottom of the housing or body of the seal while the flanges b and c are adapted to be bent up and folded together as shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7, to unite the two parts and inclose the locking devices which will be the seal of the V present invention is formed is preferably presentl I described. The portions B and C of the b ank are preliminarily flanged up so that when folded one upon the other, the

flanges 0 will rest upon seats formed by the intermediate portions of the flanges b, as shown clearl in Fig. 5 and with the extremities of the anges b projecting upwardly in' position-to fold over the flanges c as 1ndicated in Fig. 6. The joint 1s given final form by bending both flanges to the form illustrated in Fig. 7. The top and bottom of the body portions of the seal are thus 'united by a double fold of the metal and constitute in efiect a rigid and secure housing whichcannot be opened without the destruction of the device or such deformation of it as will be readily detected ,upon a casual inspection. The portion Dof the blank is formed with flanges d throughout part' only of itslength.- These flanges d are, as indicated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, clamped firmly between the flanges c and 4, while the end ofthe art D is free within the housing formed ward direction to form'the locking hooks F.

As thus constructed the locking tongue proof the ton tion H is ormed on the body portion B immediately beyond the end of the tongue E 'ects downwardly and forwardly beyond the locking tongue, whereby an object drawn over the tongue and back ast the hooks will spring the hooks upward y and the tongue downwardly, but will be caught and prevented from reverse movement by engagement with the hooks. The free end of the-tie strap A is provided 5 blank embodying1 a tie having an apertured with a rectan lar aperture a, and said free end is adapte to be pushed into the body of the seal between the portions B and D, until the ton e Esprin s through the aperture a. To acilitate an insure the proper entry e E'into the aperture, a projecthe said projection havin an inclined face up which the end of the tie will travel, as it is forced inwardly, and whereby the end of the tie will be elevated sufiiciently abovethe end of the locking tongue E to insure the engagement of the latter therewith whenthe tie is drawn outwardly into position to engage the lockin hooks. The position assumed by the en of the tie in being entered as last described, is illustrated in Fig. 4, and the position of the parts when the tie is fully locked and the seal secured is clearly indi-,

cated in Fig. 3.

With this'construction of seal-it is obvious that the introduction of any instrument into the 0111 aperture left in the body portion of' the sea to wit, the aperture through which the end of the tie passes, will not release the tie by deflecting the locking tongue or hooks,

inasmuch as a movement in a direction to It thiis becomes practically impossible to release theend of the tie without such mutilation of the seal that the fact that it had been tampered with is apparent upon a casual inspection.

Of course it will be understood that the usual'means are employed for indicating if the tie has been cut-and the cut end introduced intothe body of the seal, but assuch means form no art of the present invention,

a description 0 the same is unnecessary;

What I claim is -1. A car seal formed of a sheet metal end, an integral ousing and locking mechanism formed by flanging and uniting the edge portions of the blank, the locking mechanism consisting of two retaining hooks having their hooked ends bent down and then backwardly in a horizontal plane and a downwardly and inwardly projecting locking tongue having its body portlon 1n portion having its base clamped within the said tongue porseam of the body portion tion having three inwardly pro ecting resilient tongues, the end of the intermediate tongue being extended inwardly and down-- wardly and the-ends of the side tongues being formed into retaining hooks.

\ OTTO C. BUSSE.

Witnesses:

JACOB G. PUBDY, CHARLES A. RICHARDSON. 

